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Uprooted Greenmarkets Seek Spaces

THE 16 farmers who had set up their stalls at the Greenmarket at Liberty and Church Streets on Sept. 11 escaped with their lives when the twin towers were destroyed, though several suffered smoke inhalation and burns, and 10 lost their trucks. Traffic restrictions below Canal Street since then have forced the closing of three other markets, and security concerns have closed the one at the United Nations. That means there are more than 40 farmers with lots of produce and nowhere to sell it.

Forced to strike their tents were the markets at Bowling Green, Federal Plaza, Greenwich Street (between Chambers and Reade Streets in TriBeCa) and Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, which was shut down because of its proximity to the United Nations.

The Greenwich Street farmers have found a new home in a parking lot at Worth and West Broadway. The Borough Hall market at Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn, open on Tuesdays and Saturdays, has added Thursday hours to accommodate displaced farmers.

And a new market may soon stand in front of All Souls Church at Lexington Avenue and 80th Street if the necessary permits can be secured.

''We are reaching out to everyone to help the displaced farmers, and people are responding,'' said Joel Patraker, assistant director of the city's Greenmarket program. Even those farmers who did not lose their marketplaces have experienced a drop in business, both from restaurant clients and neighborhood shoppers.

Tony Mannetta, Greenmarket director, estimates, assuming half the markets are re-established, that displaced farmers will lose at least $500,000 in sales this year. Some unsold produce was used to help feed rescue workers.

A fund has been set up to help farmers who lost their stalls, produce and equipment in the twin towers disaster. For information, contact the Farmers' Market Federation of New York, 2100 Park Street, Syracuse, N.Y. 13208.